14 
William  P?'octer,  Jr. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I     January,  1905. 
that  have  long  since  passed,  and  memory  recalls  many  pleasant 
associations  with  the  members  of  your  College. 
Mentally,  I  can  see  the  men  who  made  the  Philadelphia  College 
of  Pharmacy  illustrious  in  the  past,  and  this  evening  I  am  pleased 
to  meet  with  those  who  have  diligently  striven  to  maintain  and 
perpetuate  the  good  character  and  usefulness  of  this  noble  educa- 
tional work. 
For  many  years  your  College  stood  alone,  on  this  vast  continent, 
in  providing  the  means  of  a  systematic  course  of  instruction  to 
those  who  had  elected  pharmacy  as  their  life  work.  Early  in  the 
past  century  your  city  became  the  centre  of  medical  and  pharma- 
ceutical learning,  and  there  were  more  celebrities  in  the  two  pro- 
fessions— medicine  and  pharmacy — found  here  than  in  any  part  of 
the  United  States.  I  believe  the  two  professions  were  more  inti- 
mately associated  in  Philadelphia  than  in  any  other  city  of  the 
Union.  Educational  interests  brought  them  close  together  in  a 
common  cause.  This  condition  of  things  produced  a  mutual  health 
and  strength,  highly  beneficial  to  each,  and  equally  so  to  the  patrons 
of  the  two  professions. 
When  I  entered  the  ranks  of  pharmacy  in  1854,  exchanging  the 
farm  life  for  that  of  the  city,  I  soon  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 
graduate  of  your  College,  who  had  served  an  apprenticeship  with 
the  late  Caleb  H.  Needles.  He  came  as  a  clerk  to  the  pharmacy 
where  I  was  engaged,  and  I  found  him  a  useful  companion.  In  less 
than  two  years  after  entering  the  business,  I  became  part  owner  of 
the  pharmacy — the  firm  being  Landis  &  Hancock,  and  the  clerk 
referred  fo  remained  in  our  employ,  becoming  my  pharmaceutical 
instructor.  This  gentleman  made  me  acquainted  with  the  Phila- 
delphia College  of  Pharmacy. 
The  books  that  engaged  my  attention  at  this  time  were  the 
United  States  Dispensatory,  by  Wood  and  Bache,  and  Mohr,  Red- 
wood and  Procter's  Practical  Pharmacy,  edited  by  William  Procter, 
Jr.  Later  on  I  learned  to  know  more  of  the  value  of  these  books 
and  their  distinguished  authors. 
The  Maryland  College  of  Pharmacy  was  reorganized  in  1856, 
and  at  great  inconvenience  to  myself  I  matriculated  as  a  student  in 
1857,  and  attended  the  lectures  on  Chemistry.  I  was  graduated  in 
i860,  joined  the: College,  as  a  member,  one  year  after,  and  in  1863 
joined  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association. 
